Fairway Faith: A Heritage Pilgrimage to the Fairways of Iloilo

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By Veronica Veloso Yap

While Manila’s fairways have their own storied history, there is no substitute for the soul of Sta. Barbara.

For a group of four visiting lady golfers, a trip to the “Queen City of the South” during the Feast of the Santo Niño became more than just a tournament—it was a homecoming to the very roots of Philippine golf. From the “Feminist Church” of Molo to the grand shadows of Casa Mariquit, we found a city where the past is not a relic, but a living, breathing part of the game.

Our visit unknowingly coincided with the Feast of the Santo Niño, preempting the main Dinagyang Festival (January 23–26) by a week, yet turning what began as a golf trip into a full cultural immersion. At Molo Church—formally the Parish Church of St. Anne—neo-Gothic stillness gave way to movement. A young girl in a billowing dress lifted the Santo Niño high, leading dancers down the nave in a reenactment of the image’s discovery and the islands’ conversion.

As the Mass concluded, Fr. Rafael raised the icon in joyful, rhythmic motion. “Faith, like love, must be lived,” he reflected later, “sometimes quietly, sometimes in celebration—but always together.”

Moments later, the sacred gave way to celebration. As the massive, ornate Gothic doors swung open, the merry chant of “HALA BIRA!” from amplified voices surrounded the glittering Molo Plaza, sparkling with parols under molave trees. Under Iloilo City’s strict no-smoking policy, the air was crisp and faintly scented with kalachuchi blooms. The illuminated neoclassical gazebo anchored a district framed by both religious devotion and everyday life.

Across the street, the floodlit Molo Mansion—once home to the Yusay-Consing family—offered a glimpse of the city’s aristocratic past, even as the spell of history breaks slightly within its foyer, where the grand rooms now house the price-tagged racks of a Kultura boutique. Yet the soul of the district remains just outside at the mansion’s side, where food stalls inevitably serve steaming bowls of pancit molo late into the evening.

The pilgrimage through history continued in nearby Jaro at Casa Mariquit. Built in 1803 by Ramon Javellana, it later became the residence of his granddaughter Maria and her husband, Vice President Fernando Lopez. Once overlooking vast open land toward the Jaro Church belfry, the house now stands as a quiet witness to grandeur and change, nestled between the encroachments of modern commercial life.

The Oldest Greens in Southeast Asia

The journey then turned to its original purpose: the Iloilo Golf and Country Club in Sta. Barbara. Established in 1907 by Scottish and British engineers working on the Philippine railway system, it remains the oldest golf course in Southeast Asia.

The club is also the only golf course in the Philippines with a direct historical affiliation to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Its philosophy remains unchanged: play the lie the land gives you—no shortcuts, no artifice. Competing in a two-day tournament sponsored by the Rotary Club, the golfers felt the weight of that legacy.

“It’s about time we play the oldest course in Southeast Asia—right here in our own country,” said golfer Totelle Dimson.

An Unscripted Game

Sta. Barbara’s golf course is alive and unscripted. A crescendo of crowing roosters accompanied Becky Albert’s early-morning tee shots. Play paused for Dionne Cu as goats wandered across the 15th fairway. At the 18th hole, a reindeer-shaped tree stands sentry in the middle of play. Along several fairways, caddie houses line the edges, placing family life within chip-shot distance of the game. Golf here is not spectacle—it is shared space.

“It’s not just on the golf course,” said Iloilo City councilor and Rotarian Johnny Young, one of the event’s key supporters. “Dinagyang lives everywhere—in the city, in the people.”

Beyond the course, the city’s layers came into focus at Museo Iloilo, where curator and anthropologist James Mozart Amsua traced Iloilo’s identity as the “Textile Capital” in the 19th century through the province’s three weaving traditions—sinamay, jusi, and piña. He also pointed out the “spectacular primary burial practice—the Oton death mask—and the unique designs of Isla Gigantes pottery.”

Iloilo, Amsua emphasized, is the first Queen City of the South, where trade between ancient China thrived before the Spaniards arrived.

As competition ended, Totelle Dimson and Becky Albert quietly rose to the top of the field in the ladies’ division, navigating lagoons and century-old trees with steady control.

The journey was recorded not just in photographs but in watercolor sketches by Kat Albert (Master of Arts in Illustration, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA), who captured churches, plazas, and fairways as the group moved through the city.

We came for golf, but left with the unmistakable Dinagyang spirit—a reminder that in Iloilo, history is always in play.

Captions

A reindeer-shaped tree inevitably charms golfers, culminating the game on the 18th hole.

City Councilor Johnny Young and Rotary President Roque Jarillo flank golf pilgrims Totelle Dimson and Becky Albert, who aced the ladies’ division of the recently concluded Mayor’s Cup Dinagyang Golf Tournament.

Another bucket-list ticked off by Tagaytay Highlands ladies golfing the country’s oldest golf course, from left: Dionne Cu, Totelle Dimson, and Becky Albert.

Built in 1907 by homesick Scottish and British engineers, the Iloilo Golf Course in Santa Barbara is a must-visit destination.

With roosters cheering her on, Totelle Dimson whacks her drive far into the center of the fairway.

The well-preserved museum in the century-old Iloilo Golf Course is a trip through 100 years of the city’s rich history.

Museo Iloilo curator and anthropologist James Mozart Amsua regaled the golf pilgrims with the rich history of the province, the first Queen City of the South.

The Metro Manila pilgrims wait on the doorway of Casa Mariquit for their turn to enter history.

Well-preserved artifacts of Iloilo’s golf history.

Kat Albert, Master of Arts in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design, USA, chronicles her journey in pen and ink as well as watercolor, tracing a passage from past to present through Iloilo’s historic churches and heritage houses.